Taken from the Document Catalogue, this double CD concentrates mainly on LeadbellyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s prowess as a blues musician. LeadbellyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s fast repertoire has all too often regarded simply as a stereotypical folk musician. In fact he was an all-rounder, also known as a Songster. Like Leadbelly his blues performances were intense and powerful his ability to play slide guitar, ragtime or low down blues, often on his thundering Stella twelve-string guitar ranks him among the best bluesmen from Texas, including his close friend Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Leadbelly, born Huddie William Ledbetter on a Louisiana plantation in 1889, was also known as Ã¢â‚¬Å“King Of The Twelve String GuitarÃ¢â‚¬. This double CD brings together 36 of Leadbelly's famous recordings including C.C. Rider (See, See, Rider), Rock Island Line and Goodnight Irene. Throughout his career Leadbelly demonstrated that he was a songster with an immense wealth of material to draw upon. Blues, Spirituals, Gospel, Ballads and work songs all performed with the unmistakable power of one of the greatest Afro-American musicians to have recorded. Although Leadbelly was an exceptional musician, he wasn't exactly an exceptional citizen. From the tender age of 13, when he owned his first gun, he had many brushes with the law. In 1918 he was indicted for murder after shooting his cousin's husband, he was found guilty of the crime and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. After three months imprisonment Leadbelly escaped and attempted to drown himself in the river as the prison guards and their hounds hunted him down. As a result of his actions the courts added another 15 years to his sentence. After serving only seven years of hard labour, Leadbelly was pardoned by the Texas governer. This was only the start of Leadbelly's years in and out of trouble. Despite the periods spent in prison Leadbelly continued to make music. In 1933 he made his first recording for the Library of Congress during his time in Angola Prison for John A. Lomax.
In later years Lead Belly was the first Folk Blues artist to perform to white audiences in the Northern states. And in 1949, he was the first Afro-American artist to tour Europe.
Lead Belly's music lives on, his music has influenced musicians from a variety of different backgrounds and eras, including Taj Mahal, Robert Plant, Janis Joplin, Ry Cooder, Kurt Cobain and Lonnie Donegan who used Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line" to launch the Skiffle craze in Britain.
Includes informative booklet notes by Gary Atkinson.